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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Crete: A Tiny ‘Ferry” Tale About A Sunday Sail

The Place: The Libyan Sea. . .
The Backdrop: . . .blue sky . . .blue sea. . .
The Time: . . .a laid-back Sunday afternoon. . .

That’s the setting for this week’s Greek ‘ferry’ tale - the tale of a trip from one of the tiniest villages on the southern coast of Crete to another tiniest of villages . . .

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Both of the villages we traveled between in this ‘ferry’ tale are accessible by boat or on foot. We opted for the easier option and traveled on the sea.

The Libyan Sea, as a matter of fact, is the sea on which we sailed. It is the rather exotic sounding  portion of the Mediterranean Sea, that lies north of the African coast (eastern Libya and western Egypt) and the southern coast of Crete.

It is the same sea that St. Paul is believed to have sailed (landing somewhere in between the two villages – a place still marked by a small chapel and spring.)

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Our trip between two tiny villages was aboard one of the tiniest of Greek ferries, the Neptune.

We left Loutro on a warm spring Sunday afternoon. It was that time just after mid-day when the intensity of the heat has slowed the pace to near standstill. The only things stirring are the ferries that serve the villages and those who, like us, were waiting to board them.

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On this small ferry we shared deck space with the supplies and every seat guaranteed a non-obstructed view.

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Our journey of an hour and a half took us along a section of Crete’s rugged, uninhabited southern coast.

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It also allowed us to look back on a route we’ve walked so many times that links Loutro to Phoenix, an even smaller hamlet on the coast. How interesting it was to see our pathway from the sea and the little chapel where we’ve so often stopped to rest – a quiet place disturbed only by the sound of distant goat bells.

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For miles the coastline entertained us with its peaks and valleys and then off in the distance we caught a glimpse of our destination:

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We docked next to the larger ferry that alternates with our small boat, serving the small towns on this route and we set out to explore.  Where had we landed?

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Well, you’ll just have to come back next Thursday and we’ll give you a walking tour of Agia Roumeli and part of Crete’s famous Samaria Gorge.

If You Go: 

Loutro and Agia Roumeli are on Crete's southwestern coast.  We traveled by car to Hora Sfakia, parking there and catching the ferry to explore these villages.


Map picture

That’s it for Travel Photo Thursday, so head over to Budget Travelers Sandbox for a bit more armchair travel! If you’ve not signed up to receive our posts regularly or haven’t added your photo to the Google friend section (both on the right hand column) we hope you’ll do so today. Happy Travels ~

25 comments:

  1. The uninhabited southern coast looks particularly awe-inspiring. Thanks for taking me on a journey away from home today, it's very gloomy here.

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    1. Hi Johanna, Thanks for the visit today - sorry you are having gloomy weather. It is 80-degrees and sunshine in Seattle. . .and we are loving it!

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  2. Such a magical part of the world. Perfectly captured. Thank you for the memory. Fxx

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    1. Oh I am glad you agree that it is magical - we are dreaming of a return! Thanks for visiting Francesca - xo J.

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  3. Jackie, how beautiful this is. I'm looking forward to next weeks tour. I hope all is well in your part of the world.

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    1. Thanks Nancie, and the tour you provided us on your post today was equally as beautiful. So much world and so little time - thank heavens for the blogosphere!

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    2. I visited Crete two years ago, sadly, no ferry trip was involved, so I enjoyed that tale of yours tremendously.

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    3. Thanks for stopping by Inka. Crete, like your new home of Spain, is just full of adventures isn't it? Way too many things to do and not always enough time!

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  4. Hi Jackie, wow what a sweet little ferry, I love the smaller sized vessels compared to the large ferries traveling everywhere - it looks fantastic getting a coastal perspective from the water, I agree.

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    1. Yes, I loved this ferry, Noel. Kept thinking about the movie, The African Queen, only because it was so small and so unconventional that it felt extremely exotic.

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  5. Hi Jackie, what a coincidence. My and a friend were just talking about Crete over lunch today. I really want to spend some time in Crete when we return to Greece. It looks wonderful taking the small ferry from one small village to the next. The view is incredible. I just checked the link to your Loutro post. Loutro is stunning. It's nice to see the route and the church upclose from both land and sea.

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    1. Oh you will love, love, love Crete. Make it a point to visit some of the smallest of villages as well as the larger cities as they all have something wonderful to be discovered. Thanks for your comment today!

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  6. I love local ferry rides. The first thing I noticed was the tins of paint on the deck. I can imagine the breeze in my hair - I love being outdoors on a boat (not so keen on being inside).

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    1. Yes, especially on this boat the interior quarters were rather small - I wouldn't have liked being in there in bad weather! But it was as you described outside, complete with wind-blown hair.

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  7. HelloJackie

    I loved the ferry ride with you and look forward to the tour.
    Helen xx

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    1. Thanks so much, Helen. I am working on that tour now!

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  8. What a gorgeous trip!! I love that rugged, wild coastline. :-)

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    1. It is a stunning coastline and I am afraid my camera didn't quite catch its magnitude and diversity. (Need a new camera I keep saying, :-) )

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  9. Hello there, nice to connect via Travel Photo Thursday. You've taken me back to my first ever trip out of Scotland, it was 1980 and I was 16... a school trip to Greece by minibus and we took the ferry to Crete. I absolutely loved Crete but have never been back. Living in Sydney now, and have for many years... but will get back there one day. Thanks for the lovely photos and memory-jogging.

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    1. Oh what a fabulous experience that would have been to have had as a teenager! Hope you do make it back one day. And thanks for visiting - will have to reconnect again next week!

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  10. The ferry looks like a wonderful way to travel. I wasn't expecting such a picture-perfect ferry either. Looks like you had some great scenery from the boat.

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    1. It was a noisy little boat, but charming all the same. Looking forward to riding it again some day. Thanks for visiting Michele!

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  11. Looks like a fantastic way to see the coast - and what a glorious coast it is. I took a boat trip just after I finished hiking the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island & saw the route from the water. It always gives you such a different perspective.

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    1. Now that sounds like an interesting boat trip, will have to put that on our list, Leigh.

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  12. Jackie, I've only know Crete in stories and the movies! How fantastic I get to read this!! Thank you! Ironically, from your pics it wasn't what I expected. I had more...I dunno...like you said...exotic :)

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